League of Michigan Bicyclists to tour E.U.P.

Wednesday

Jul 9, 2014 at 2:00 PM

By Rachel Osborn

Starting this weekend, a group of 175 bicyclists from all over the U.S. and Canada will converge in the EUP — as part of the League of Michigan Bicyclists’ 13th annual Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (MUP) Bicycle Tour.

“We’re going to spend a week riding around the U.P.,” League of Michigan Bicyclists Executive Director Rich Moeller explained by phone.

Bicyclists will begin arriving on Saturday, July 12, in St. Ignace — where they will visit local attractions like Mackinac Island, among others, through Sunday.

On Monday the bike trek will begin with the group heading out to Newberry. After an overnight stay there, they will pedal to Paradise.

In Paradise, the group will take in Tahquamenon Falls and Whitefish Point, before landing in the Sault. Stops along the way include Point Iroquois Lighthouse and Bay Mills.

The bicyclists will spend two full days in Sault Ste. Marie, where they can travel the International Bridge to Canada, take a tour of the Soo Locks and visit other local attractions.

On Friday, the bicyclists will travel to DeTour before ending back in St. Ignace on Saturday.

“A lot of people are really fascinated by the U.P.,” Moeller said. “(The bicyclists) come away with positive comments. They just love it.”

The MUP tour has gained popularity in recent years, growing to 175 riders. Though they could easily have a group twice that size, the league doesn’t want to create too large of a group since they’ll be staying at local schools.

The bicyclists will be staying at Lake Superior State University in the Sault.

Members of the group will travel from 22 different states and two Canadian provinces to meet up at Little Bear East Arena St. Ignace. The three to 79-year-olds are primarily from out of state, Moeller said.

People travel so far for the event because the EUP is a perfect bicycle tour area, Moeller explained.

“The Eastern U.P. is really perfect to ride your bike,” he said. “There’s pretty scenery. There’s low traffic count on the roads. It’s not a difficult terrain and it’s easy to get to.”

Major tourist attractions like Mackinac Island and Tahquamenon Falls are also a big draw.

That makes it easy for league members to organize the educational, as well as fundraising, event.

“We have three goals,” Moeller explained. “We want to show off the beauty of the area and show that you can use your bicycle as a tourism mechanism. We want to show people that bicyclists can ride responsibility. (Also), the tour helps fund the League of Michigan Bicyclists.”

The league is a state-wide organization that looks to promote bicyclists and the safety of bicyclists on roadways. To do this, they work with county and local officials, as well as state legislators.

“We do a lot of education and advocacy,” Moeller said. “In order to do that, it takes funding to make it all happen.”

The group puts out educational materials and hosts training events, as well as organizes three other bicycle tours throughout the state.